Artificial tooth



May 27, 1969 K. A. KUPPER ARTIFICIAL TOOTH Filed Sept. 23, 1966 INVENTOR KARL A. KUPPER ATTKS'.

United States Patent Int. Cl. A61c is/os, 13/00 us. or. 32-10 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention provides an artificial tooth structure having a tooth body including a cavity for receiving a support core structure. The artificial tooth structure includes an elevation located in the cavity between winglike ribs located on the rear portion of the said body. The elevation includes a plateau and longitudinal grooves disposed between the plateau and the said wing-like ribs. At least one transverse step is located on the elevation and is contiguous to the said plateau. The support core structure has corresponding stepped surfaces in abutting relationship to the surfaces within the said cavity.

Background of the invention .It is presently well known to form artificial teeth having means, such as a pin, projecting from the rear surface for securing the teeth to bridge plates, dentures, etc. The rear surfaces of such teeth are generally fiat and besause of this it is generally impossible to make a bridge or bridge replacement which is fully satisfactory from a cosmetic standpoint. Such conventional artificial teeth have sharp lateral edges and do not, therefore, even give the appearance of smooth surfaced natural teeth.

Purpose of the invention The primary object of this invention is to eliminate the above and other disadvantages in conventional artificial teeth by providing an artificial tooth which has the appearance of an anatomically formed natural tooth, is highly stable when in use, and permits individual and irregular tooth shaping, both with a fixed bridge replacement and when making skeletal dentures of noble or other metals.

Summary of the invention The objects of the invention are realized by providing an artificial tooth with a pin at a rear side thereof for securement to dentures, the rear side of the tooth body has ridges, and a separate box-like support core engages with a stepped cavity between the ridges of the tooth body.

Brief description of drawings The invention will be clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of an artificial tooth constructed in accordance with this invention, and illustrates the front face of the tooth.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the artificial tooth, and illustrates a pin carried by the tooth body projecting through a hole of a separate support core.

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the artificial tooth taken generally along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, and illustrates the support core seated in a cavity of the tooth body.

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view of the tooth with the support core removed, and illustrates ridge-receiving grooves in the cavity.

Claims 3,445,932 Patented May 27, 1969 "ice FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4, and more clearly illustrates the ridgereceiving grooves of the cavity.

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of the support core, and illustrates a plurality of ridges which are complementan'ly contoured for reception in the grooves of the tooth body.

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view of the support core taken along the line 7--7 of FIGURE 6, and more clearly illustrates the configuration of the ridges.

Description of specific embodiments The artificial tooth is shown as an incisor in the drawing and comprises a tooth body 1 and a support core 2 disposed at the rear side or face of the body 1. The tooth body 1 has at its rear side a pair of longitudinally extending wing-like lateral ribs 3. The support core 2 is disposed between the ribs 3 and the close fit therebetween provides the appearance of a one-piece structure, as is readily apparent from FIGURE 2 of the drawing.

The body 1 is provided with a right-angled step or shoulder 4 at its base against which abuts a corresponding projection 5 of the support core 2. Another step or shoulder 6 (FIGURE 4) is formed at an upper portion of the body 1 in convex opposed relationship to the step or shoulder 4-. A central generally trapezoidal plateau 7 is disposed between the steps 4, 16 and a pair of ridgereceiving grooves 8, 8 immediately adjacent the ribs 3 into which is received ridges 9, 9 of the support core 2. A longitudinal cylindrical pin 10 constructed from a noble metal is embedded in the plateau 7 and passes through a hole 11 in the support core 2 when the latter is housed in the body cavity as shown best in FIGURES 2 and 3. In this position a curved tongue 13 of the support core 2 engages beneath and interlocks with a lower surface 12 of the body 1, thereby forming an additional shoulder or step so that the tooth body 1 has triple abutment surfaces against which the support core 2 is reinforced and supported under the pressure of chewing. The various surfaces of abutment and engagement between the core and the tooth body, including the ridges 9, 9 seated in the grooves 8, 8, maintain the core and body in immoveable relationship and impart the heretofore noted one-piece appearance to the tooth. Connection between the core 2 and the body 1 is also effected by the engagement between the pin 10 and the core hole 11.

The tooth may be constructed as shown in the drawings but the pin 10 and the hole 11 may be eliminated. In this case the support core 2 can be slid into the tooth body 1 from the base thereof. In this construction a rear face 7a of the plateau 7 has its flanks parallel or undercut in a dovetail construction, as shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 5. The ridges 9, 9 of the support core 2 are correspondingly contoured.

Due to the wing-like lateral ribs 3, 3 the artificial tooth has the appearance of an anatomically formed natural tooth. These anatomically shaped lateral surfaces also give the tooth the appearance of a solid one-piece tooth free of sharp edges. During installation of the tooth in a denture or bridge, the ribs 3, 3 directed toward the mouth can be shortened by grinding as may be needed for the necessary thickness of metal plate. The ribs may be sufficiently ground on all sides without losing the tooths innate stability and support, and without detracting from the appearance of an anatomically shaped tooth.

It should also be noted that by this construction grinding the tooth to a bevel is unnecessary, and the tooth form also permits individual and irregular shaping, as heretofore noted. Due to the interengagement of the 3 tooth body and the support core by at least one step or shoulder and the divergent ridges, the tooth body provides excellent support when placed in a bridge or denture of any type.

I claim:

1. An artificial tooth structure comprising, in combination,

(a) a tooth body including a pair of longitudinally extending wing-like ribs located on a rear portion thereof,

(b) said ribs being spaced apart to form a cavity for receiving a support core structure,

(c) an elevation located in said cavity between said ribs and including' a plateau and longitudinal grooves disposed between said plateau and said ribs,

(d) said elevation includes at least one transverse step contiguous to said plateau,

(e) said support core structure has corresponding stepped surface in abutting relationship to the surfaces within said cavity.

2. The artificial tooth as defined in claim 1 wherein said stepped surfaces define shoulders facing a lower end portion of said body, and said support core is constructed for slidable interlocking engagement with said body by movement of said core upwardly from said lower end portion.

3. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said body includes means for securing said structure to a denture,

said securing means passes through an aperture located in said support core.

4. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said body includes at least one undercut ridge-receiving groove and said core structure includes an interlocking ridge to form a dovetail connection with said ridge receiving groove.

5. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said body includes means for securing said structure to a denture, said securing means passes through an aperture located in said support core. 6. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said elevation plateau is reduced in width in a direction toward a lower end portion of said tooth body. 7. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 6 wherein said wing-like ribs converge in a direction toward the lower end portion of said tooth body. 8. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 7 wherein said body cavity includes a shoulder at an upper end of said elevation plateau. 9. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 8 wherein said body includes at least one undercut ridge-receiving groove and said core structure includes an interlocking ridge to form a dovetail connection with said ridge receiving groove. 10. An artificial tooth structure as defined in claim 9 wherein said core structure includes a curved tongue portion extending along the lower portion of the tooth body and is short of the cutting edge on said tooth body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,363,169 12/1920 Shipley 32-1O 1,860,806 5/1932 Cooley 32-9 2,247,968 7/1941 Sostrin et al. 32l2 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner. 

